Present Time…
Karen woke up with a startle. She looked at the bedside clock next to her and yawned.
She slowly got out of bed, walked towards Frank's room, and as if on cue, Frank started crying. Karen held him and slowly patted him.
Nelly had prepared breakfast by then, so Karen handed Nelly the baby and went up to her room to prepare for her day.
She was so happy, her break up with Sam notwithstanding, and she couldn't wait to get to the office and be productive.
She quickly took her breakfast after showering then left for work. She was quite early, and so she had a few minutes to spare and check on Val, who had also coincidentally got to the office early.
After her conversation with Arnold about them having a baby, Val couldn't wait to get out of the house.
She felt suffocated and choked, and she knew she had to calm down or else she would break down and it would be all over.
"You're up so early," Arnold curiously said when he felt Val wake up.
"I have to get to work early. I have loads of paperwork to look through and am lagging behind," Val answered with a sleepy smile.
"Are you sure you're okay? You've been kind of off these past few days," Arnold observed, and Val almost threw up. He did know she was acting odd.
"I'm okay. Let's just say it's been work pressure. I promise I am okay. Now, get back to sleep," Val said in an assuring voice after composing herself.
As she dressed that morning, she knew she had to let go of the baggage and guilt she was feeling and get back to the person Arnold knew her to be.
"It feels like forever since I saw you," Karen told Val, who stood up to hug her. "Before I say anything about myself, I want to know how you are, honestly."
Val looked at Karen and smiled, then said she was okay but hadn't been feeling okay days before.
"Just problems with Arnold," Val said, shrugging.
It wasn't far from a lie, given she felt she had created a monster in her relationship with Arnold. She also consoled herself that it would only be a monster if Arnold found out, and she had vowed that he would never.
"What's up?"Karen inquired. She was concerned.
"It's sorted. We talked through it," Val answered, smiling more broadly. It was a way to get Karen off her back.
The two friends talked for a few more minutes, both keen not to bring up Sam or Carey into their conversation.
"I will see you over lunch. Lunch on me," Karen said as she stood up.
She had her phone in her hands, and she was walking towards the door when she received a notification from her phone. She ignored it, but before she could step out, she heard Val cursing loudly.
"What happened?" Karen asked, walking back towards Val, whose face was colorless. Her eyes were almost out of their sockets, and they were glued to her phone.
"Val. What happened? Is everything okay?"Karen asked.
As if realizing for the first time that she had company, Val looked up.
Karen was even more shocked when she saw Val shedding tears so she snatched the phone from her hands and she couldn't believe what she saw.
"What the ..." Karen started but got stuck midway. She blankly looked at the screen before her, and she didn't even know when the phone fell from her hand. She felt dizzy.
Val was up in no time, and she helped her friend sit on the chair opposite hers.
Shaking her head in disbelief, she walked towards the water dispenser in her room and got Karen a glass of water.
It felt like centuries before Karen could react, and when she did, it was an outburst. A loud one. Val tried comforting her, but at that very moment, they both received notifications on their phones.
Karen suddenly stopped crying and held her phone, with the assumption that Nelly had sent an update about Frank. Alas! It was the same blog.
It had another update.
An anonymous blog had started making Karen's life miserable. But it wasn't hers alone. Evans had also found himself in the mix.
"Who do you think did that?" Val asked cautiously.
"I honestly don't know. At this point, I have so many enemies. Carey and Sam, one of them might have done it." Karen said, trying to keep her voice under control.
"Why would they? Do you think Angie has read this?" Val asked, treading more cautiously. She knew how irrational Angie could be at times, and she was hoping against hope that Angie wouldn't believe the crap in the blog.
"I don't know," Karen answered before sighing heavily.